Just checked my D600 again at 700 exposures. No dust! Great, but not so fast. Now there are 5 oil spots on the left side of the image with three in the upper left corner. So I will clean it again and hope they don't come back.

Used Peter Gregg's sensor sweeps and technique to clean. Didn't know if it would remove the 5 oil spots but it did. Great, but not so fast. Now there is a big dust spot which was not there before! Clean again. Finally, all clear.

If you change lens frequently it is expected to have some dust on the sensor. In this case you need to do regular maintenance and remove the dust from the sensor as many time as needed. It is fine with me.

But the problem with the D600 seems to be a little different. The article by lensrental.com shows that they found a gap around the sensor that seems to be larger than the other Nikon cameras. That could be the source of the dust/oil issue:

Great link explaining the apparent problem with the D600. Unfortunate...Nikon seems to be making a lot of errors in production quality control. I certainly hope this is recognized and corrected soon or there may be folks who are abandoning ship.

Well... I took my camera into my dealer and they said that they would replace it... but I got their floor model and took a "dust shot" with it... and it was even _worse_ than my camera! So... no reason to replace (might just get one worse). They said they could send it in for cleaning... but it would be a month before I got it back. So, I told them I would use my Giottos Rocket Blower and see if it would do any good. I just got through cleaning the sensor with the rocket blower and thought I would share my results:

(all photos take using 24-70G at 70mm at f/22 focused near infinity on a piece of paper. Disregard the "yellowish splotch" it was some junk on the paper...)

This is after repeated (10+) mirror up cleaning sessions with the rocket blower. When I first took at look at the sensor I could visibly see the dust (mostly in the bottom left corner when looking at the sensor). I could see it getting blown away with the rocket blower. As you can see, there are still a few small spots... but they won't be visible at anything other than f/22 (where I don't shoot much). I could keep blowing, but it's just as likely that I will continue to blow around the dust instead of really getting it off. To get that last bit off I would need to either send it in or do a wet cleaning (which I'm NOT doing on a brand new $2100 piece of equipment. I understand that many people do... it's just not for me).

So the verdict? It is definitely _dust_. It is not oil (at least on my sensor) and it can be effectively dealt with in a "non-contact" way. I'm happy with the result and I'll just be diligent about blowing off my sensor every now and again. I hope that eventually it settles down a bit... but I can definitely live with this one "issue" for everything else that is awesome about this camera.

It is a huge relief to know that I can deal with this on my own and I don't need to send my camera anywhere....

Have the D600 for a few weeks now, no oil or dust. And yes, I would expect to clean the sensor dust prior to shooting. Do people really think there is oil spraying around inside the camera? Really? I find this hard to believe.

RockyMtnPhotos said:
Have the D600 for a few weeks now, no oil or dust. And yes, I would expect to clean the sensor dust prior to shooting. Do people really think there is oil spraying around inside the camera? Really? I find this hard to believe.

But why wouldn't there be oil? There are metal components sliding around in the inside... and they need lubrication?

I have been a Nikon shooter for thirty years. I have never seen anywhere Nikon stating there is oil splashing around inside their cameras and getting on a sensor. If there is, I'd appreciate reading an official statement. These cameras are assembled to exacting specifications in what probably amounts to a surgical clean room. Could their be dust, possibly. Oil, I am skeptical.

RockyMtnPhotos said:
I have been a Nikon shooter for thirty years. I have never seen anywhere Nikon stating there is oil splashing around inside their cameras and getting on a sensor. If there is, I'd appreciate reading an official statement. These cameras are assembled to exacting specifications in what probably amounts to a surgical clean room. Could their be dust, possibly. Oil, I am skeptical.

Hi I am new to Nikon and have a D600 had it a few weeks now love it. Must have taken a few thousand photos and I have not seen any spots or marks. After reading all the post's this morning I checked my sensor by photographing a white board, I viewed at 100% and it looks perfectly clean. I have three lenses and change them often, How strange my camera is not affected

RockyMtnPhotos: I have had both dust and oil on my early production run D600 sensor; as have many others. If you don't believe us go buy one yourself and see what happens. Some seem fine and others have dust or oil spots or both showing up more than normal. BTW, the D600 is the first full frame camera not assembled in Japan. Perhaps that is the source of the issue.

RockyMtnPhotos said:
I have been a Nikon shooter for thirty years. I have never seen anywhere Nikon stating there is oil splashing around inside their cameras and getting on a sensor. If there is, I'd appreciate reading an official statement. These cameras are assembled to exacting specifications in what probably amounts to a surgical clean room. Could their be dust, possibly. Oil, I am skeptical.

I have the D7000 and never had any problems but there were problems with the early batches.

It looks like you have just joined this forum and I'm guessing you haven't 'lurked' here much either or you would know there has been plenty written and reported about issues recently. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change marques, but possibly due to the disasters in the areas the plants are and the fact that they are relatively new to building cameras there, quality problems have occurred.

spraynpray said:
Scroll to the bottom of the blog page and you will see something from DP Review (undoubtable pedigree).

No one has said specifically that it _IS_ oil (ie no one has tested it to see if it is oil)... only that some of it required contact (wet) cleaning. It could just be stubborn (electrostatically charged or welded) dust.

I personally have the issue... and all of mine is definitely dust. I can see it on the sensor... and see it blow around with my rocket blower....